The proposed Newport Marina Hotel and Conference Center on Lake Memphremagog is part of Bill Stenger's $600 million EB-5 development plan for the Northeast Kingdom. / Courtesy

Written by

Dan D’Ambrosio

Free Press Staff Writer

Bill Stenger's EB-5 development plan for the Northeast Kingdom includes the Main Street Renaissance Block, intended to revitalize downtown Newport. / Courtesy

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It doesn’t appear that Bill Stenger’s mammoth EB-5 economic development program for the Northeast Kingdom is on the official agenda of any town meetings in the region next week — the first town meetings since the projects at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts and in Newport were announced in September. But that doesn’t mean EB-5 isn’t a leading topic of conversation in Kingdom restaurants, cafes and diners — not to mention around kitchen tables.

Stenger is proposing to inject some $600 million into the Kingdom through a federal immigration program, known as EB-5, that offers foreign investors a shot at a permanent green card through a $500,000 investment in a rural, economically depressed region of the country — an apt description of the Northeast Kingdom. Stenger’s projects range from expansion at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain to a new biotech facility in Newport.

“It is the buzz around town,” said Jim Rust, chair of the St. Johnsbury Selectboard. “Depending on where you are, it’s great buzz, or you’ll get somebody saying, ‘Ah, we’ve heard this before,’ or ‘Oh great, we’re going to sell more of the United States off to foreigners.’”

Rust is personally optimistic about the jobs Stenger’s plans will bring to the Kingdom, but he acknowledges not everyone is putting out the welcome wagon.

“In the Northeast Kingdom, you have staunch Yankee people who have lived here forever,” Rust said. “They like it to remain the way it is. For them, they don’t see any need for growth, and also for them they’re somewhat wondering why somebody from a foreign country can get all this assistance, but not an individual born and raised here. I think it’s more of an undercurrent. It depends on which restaurant you sit at.”

Many false starts

Stenger’s plans for Burke Mountain, which include new hotels and a unique indoor mountain biking park, have probably been met with the most skepticism, according to Daniel Hill, municipal administrator in Lyndon, which sits “right next door” to the mountain.

“There’s been so many false starts on the mountain, everybody is waiting to see if this is for real or not,” Hill said.

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In 2007, Florida-based Ginn Development Co. caused a stir when it announced plans to build 1,000 units of housing at Burke Mountain, and a golf course, but those plans disappeared like melting snow, according to Dave Snedeker, planning manager for the Northeastern Vermont Development Association in St. Johnsbury.

“They ended up not doing anything, and pulling out,” Snedeker said.

Hill said there have been four or five false starts at Burke Mountain over the past 15 years, but based on what Stenger has already done in Newport and at Jay Peak, he believes the plans are “more real” this time around. Stenger told the Free Press recently he will have offering documents and a business plan for about $150 million of investments in Burke Mountain ready for potential investors to peruse early this month.

While Hill is excited about the “peripheral business opportunities” development at Burke Mountain would mean for Lyndon’s retail stores and restaurants, he said what the town really needs is manufacturing jobs.

“I would like to see us pick up something that actually produces something and provides year-round, stable employment that may or may not be tied to recreation,” Hill said. “Recreation jobs are fine, but as a general rule, not particularly high paying with benefits.”

Not panicked yet

Paul Monette, mayor of Newport, said that while the town no longer has a traditional town meeting, it does still vote on issues of concern. In 2011, Derby and Newport City voters supported the idea of Walmart coming to Derby by an 85 percent margin, according to Monette. No such vote is planned on Stenger’s EB-5 plans.

“As far as the EB-5 program, I think people look beyond that and look at positive developments for Newport,” Monette said. “I haven’t heard anybody kind of opposed to the EB-5 program, or the way the money comes about. The majority look forward to it.”

The only concern, Monette said, is the increased traffic the projects would bring, which will require the town to “rethink” some of its traffic patterns.

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In tiny Glover, about 20 miles south of Newport, Jack Sumberg, chair of the selectboard, said it’s hard to know with any certainty what Stenger’s EB-5 developments will mean for the towns surrounding Newport.

“We don’t have the resources to do the demographic studies,” Sumberg said.

Robert Kern, superintendent of the North Country Supervisory Union, raised the same issue of information gathering at a hearing held in Newport last month by the House commerce and economic development and transportation committees.

Kern told state legislators the school system wanted to “plan for success,” but needed help from the state to determine how many new residents there will be, where they will live, and how many children they will have.

In a recent interview, Kern said the Northeastern Vermont Development Association is “really pushing,” together with the state, to gather the necessary data. He said Stenger too had offered to share his reports, but that “we need to dig deeper.”

“I’m confident the numbers will be coming to us so we can plan appropriately,” Kern said. “I’m not panicked yet.”

No need for change

In the town most affected by Stenger’s plans — Newport — there are no plans to ask for help either gathering information, or mitigating the impact of development. Zoning Administrator Paul Dreher said the planning commission had a meeting recently about potential impact fees related to EB-5 development, and decided they weren’t necessary. The town’s infrastructure is up to the task, according to Dreher.

“Right now it looks like we’re good,” Dreher said. “We discussed our capital plan and what we have included to accommodate this and there’s nothing. No new improvements as a result of this. No new fire truck, no new roads. In four years or five years if this rate of growth continues ... maybe.”

Ultimately, Dreher said, it comes down to more than data and studies.

“There’s a weird, implicit trust here that Bill is one of us,” he said. “Will he screw the town? The answer is no.”